Mechwarrior: Dark Age

[gamecat]

Whaddaja think? I'm considering dropping a lot of money into this game, and I wanna know what's up. Attending tourneys scares me, because I'm assuming a group of Mage Knight professionals will run the show.

As to my figs, well I'm playing Bannson's Janitors.. whoops, Bannson's Raiders.

 

[Azure Trance]

Very very fun. And addictive.

I bought a starter and 16 boosters, have 5 uniques, and lots more that I don't have. The game is quick, and tactically deep. I keep getting my butt whumped by not thinking of how infantry or tanks or mechs will act in response to what I do.

Still ...

I plan on trying the Tourney as the Highlanders. Each game I play gives me something to learn more about the game - what to do and not do.

But I'm tired of buying all those boosters, right now I'm saving up for a case (48 boosters).

Useful Links:

www.wizkidsgames.com
www.mwrealms.com

 

[Creamsteak]

From a pilot's perspective, those Highlanders are hard to fight in mountainous terrain, but you can whip them silly on flat ground or inside a city. They're just pathetic compared to my MK2 Dominator (Twin Clan Ultra AC 20's with variable missles depending on situation).

Oh wait, I'm talking about the vidjo games, not the strategy games. Anyway, MK2 still owns.

 

[Tharkun]

I really enjoy the game (though it's the only click game I've played). It does have much tactical elements to it which is good

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

I'll try not to rant too hard here, but no matter what they say, whiz kids did not do justice to Battletech. The tactics are obvious, and over simplistic. The story line has more holes than the ELH. The models look nothing like the Mechs' they represent, and don't even live up to mage knight or hero click standards.

You were probably looking for an opinion on which faction to play, so I apologize, but you would be better of getting yourself the real rules, the real figs, and a case of paint.

 

[shurai]

Sing it, Preacherman! I don't even like Battletech that much compared to other mecha tactical games (read: Heavy Gear), but I used to play play it all the time and I feel like MWA misses some of the point of how Battlemechs work.

In some ways it is superior. The game seems to play faster, and it certainly requires less number crunching. The game is tactically interesting after a fashion, though I've chosen to ignore it at the game store for reasons later discussed. Conventional units fight more often than in the original game, too, which most would consider an advantage since it broadens the game's possibilities.

The mechs themselves are beautifully if grittily painted. They don't hold to the original designs too much, but to a bunch of 14-year-olds who've never seen Battletech before, that won't matter. Neo-grognards like myself don't like it much though, because they new designs don't have the old Robotech feeling or the later edition's chunky feel either. Instead, many of the mechs look more skeletal, with thin, rickety looking arms and legs. Also, the game seems to suffer from Warhammer's problem of having too many absurd melee weapons like chainsaws and circular whirling spikey things. One of the coolest things about the original Battletech, to me, was that the mechs looked and felt tough and strong, but the new ones seem to be more fragile. Remember the old Warhammer (the mech, no the GW scam)? That guy just looked intimidating. But the new Atlas looks like a refugee from a Gwar video.

My main problem with the game is my a moral exception to games where you can spend more money to win more often. It's the reason I quit Magic, the reason I constantly heckle the Warhammer geeks at the game store in my town, and the reason I won't play this game. I spent $25 once upon a time to play all the Battletech I want, and I don't need to pay warhammer-like costs (per fig anyway) to have fun smashing things with big robots.

Gameplay matters most to me, so I don't hold much truck with expensive games with pretty bits, even if the gameplay is decent as in Mechwarrior: Dark Age. To me, paying more than $30 for any game is a little much, and as we all know, the expenditures for MWA are likely to be in the hundreds for serious players.

-S

 

[Azure Trance]

I'll try not to rant too hard here, but no matter what they say, whiz kids did not do justice to Battletech. The tactics are obvious, and over simplistic. The story line has more holes than the ELH. The models look nothing like the Mechs' they represent, and don't even live up to mage knight or hero click standards.

You were probably looking for an opinion on which faction to play, so I apologize, but you would be better of getting yourself the real rules, the real figs, and a case of paint.

So you know, the storyline was in place before WizKids touched it. Try not to give blanket statements like, "the tactics are obvious and overly simplistic." If that was the case, then you could win everytime since its so simple. I've also heard from many clixplayers that the work done on MW-DA is much better then HeroClix. I've seen a lot of HeroClix figures, and must agree. In any event - it's just a different game for the same universe.

I like Classic BattleTech as well, but I like the quickness of this one. A lance on lance battle could take an entire evening. 4 mechs versus 4 mechs here would take half an hour? An hour?.

And for buying more gets you more - it is collectible for a reason. Wizkids has to make a profit somewhere so it doesn't go the way of FASA did.

 

[Azure Trance]

As to my figs, well I'm playing Bannson's Janitors.. whoops, Bannson's Raiders.

I use BRs in my army when I have a need for hordes of infantry. I have 8 standard foot and 4 peasant companys right now.

What I would REALLY like would be more hoverbikes though...